Staff Reporter:
The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) has tightened its dragnet against money laundering linked to narcotics-related crimes, with four cases exposing suspected illicit financial transactions and assets worth nearly Tk 100.39 crore.
Charge sheets submitted in the four cases have documented suspected illegal financial transactions and assets totalling Tk 100,38,91,400, according to concerned officials of the Ministry of Home and DNC.
Filed between 2018 and 2023 in Dhaka, Chattogram and Rangpur, the cases have reached the trial stage, bringing the substantial financial trail under judicial scrutiny.
The amount represents suspected transactions and assets documented in the charge sheets, not money already recovered or confiscated. The allegations remain subject to judicial determination.
The four cases are part of a broader DNC crackdown involving 36 money laundering cases and preliminary inquiries. Of these, five remain under investigation and 27 are undergoing preliminary inquiries, according to official records confirmed by Home Ministry and DNC officials.
The proceedings are being pursued under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, as amended in 2015.
The four cases involving the suspected financial transactions and assets are Halishahar Police Station Case No. 12, filed on June 11, 2018; Pahartali Police Station Case No. 03, filed on May 1, 2019; Wari Police Station Case No. 07, filed on February 1, 2022; and Tajhat Police Station Case No. 04, filed on March 1, 2023.
The cases were filed in police stations in Chattogram, Dhaka and Rangpur.
With charge sheets submitted, the cases have moved beyond the investigation stage and are now awaiting judicial determination.
Their eventual outcomes will depend on the evidence presented before the courts.
Meanwhile, five money laundering cases remain under investigation, including four filed in 2026.
These are Gulshan Police Station Case No. 14, filed on March 1, 2025; Godagari Police Station Case No. 25, filed on January 26, 2026; Godagari Police Station Case No. 06, filed on February 8, 2026; Khamarhat Police Station Case No. 24, filed on March 15, 2026; and Chapainawabganj Sadar Model Police Station Case No. 39, filed on June 16, 2026.
Beyond the nine formal cases, the DNC is conducting 27 preliminary inquiries into suspected money laundering activities to identify suspicious transactions and establish the nature and extent of potential illicit wealth.
As financial investigations become increasingly complex, the DNC is planning to strengthen its institutional capacity through a proposed modernization roadmap.
The plan includes establishing a specialised Cyber Security and Money Laundering Unit, a digital forensic laboratory and dedicated prosecution offices at Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court premises.
DNC Additional Director General Mohammad Golam Azam told that the proposed initiatives are intended to strengthen investigations into technology-facilitated drug trafficking, illicit financial networks and other narcotics-related offences.
With four cases before the courts, five investigations continuing and 27 preliminary inquiries underway, the department now faces the challenge of translating its widening enforcement drive into successful prosecutions and tangible legal outcomes.
The Tk 100.39 crore financial trail documented in the four charge sheets represents a significant development in the crackdown. The ultimate test, however, will be whether investigators can prove the allegations in court and secure the lawful recovery or confiscation of assets linked to criminal activity.
